MONDAY, May 21, 2018, 7:00 pm (Activity Center)
DON’T MISS THIS NEW FUN MUSICAL READING-RECITAL
WITH DAN HAUGHEY & MICHAEL CALLAHAN
AARON POWER is an exciting, new, full-length musical about a talented but troubled Anglo-Navajo teen! <!–split–> Aaron is sent by a medicine man on an epic quest to Ireland to escape a possible crime. The teen is to discover the mystery of his Irish roots. A gifted musician, Aaron Power Thorn meets up with a cutting-edge Celtic Rock band that is running from the suspicion that one of its members may have committed an act of terrorism in Belfast. Aaron is quickly assimilated into the band, its culture and its Irish tour–a journey for its own musical identity. Aaron falls in love with the lead singer, Kate, who helps him find his place in Irish music, traditions, and the discovery of his haunting heritage: that Aaron’s mysterious and late grandfather was a “Taoiseach” (pronounced teé-sheck): one of Ireland’s most loved yet hated political chiefs of modern times. With the pressures of a new culture and challenges of relationships converging on him, Aaron—in a flurry of emotions– flees to the Great Blasket Island, the apparent burial ground of his grandfather. Aaron aims to resort to violence, to “blow up” and deface the controversial, ill-fated family legacy that is now his own. In his struggle, he slips on a rock during a terrible island storm, and falls unconscious into a dream-like, nightmarish state. He is confronted in a dream sequence by an apparition of his infamous grandfather, Charles Power, as he confronts Aaron with his Irish identity, family and troubled values, and even the meaning of love. Aaron is rescued, and in the denouement, begins a healing process as he reconciles issues that have haunted him. He pledges a new-found understanding of his heritage, his love of family, and his love for Kate. He sees himself now as a man and a musician with a meaningful message, who has much to express about the world and who he really is. He vows to return to the States with Kate, reunite with his Navajo family, and resolve his tempestuous life. This is a musical of cultural discovery, family fusion, and a quest for peace. It is a right-of-passage story about personal challenge and growth, set to distinctive, uplifting sounds of contemporary Irish American and Native American music.